Down here in Florida a woman in Miami bought a gun and killed her neighbor. It turns out that she had been hospitalized three times for mental problems, but the hospitalizations were not permitted to be included in her history (the reason(s) were not mentioned), so they didn't show up in her background check. Maybe the background check would work if the government did a better job with it.

Here in the peoples republic of new jersey in order to obtain a FID card or a permit to purchase a handgun you must sign a release of mental health records or no permits. Funny thing is this information is not shared with NICS. So if you can't buy it at home, just go out of state.

Well here are a couple of things government has done well: The superhiway system under Eisenhower's watch. The Space Program, overall. Great bridges and damns, albeit with likely cost overruns. Great National Parks. An advanced military system despite a lot of waste and cost overruns.

The civilian marksmanship program. Some of the federal standards for vehicles. Some institutions that oversee scientific research....

...and politicians do a bad job, distracting us with relatively less important social issues such as the marriage definition, the gun debate (a useful third rail to get votes) and stupid and damaging amnesty for illegal immigrants in the guise of civil rights...a good vote-getter, however. It's said...the downsides.